Suspender, intended in particular for stockings



Jan. 9, 1968 3,362,051

INTENDED IN PARTlCULAR FOR STOCKINGS A. NIKKINEN SUSPENDER FiIed June 9,1966 United States Patent I '3 Claims (Cl. 24-245 ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A suspender for clothing having two branches connected to oneanother at one of their ends. One of the branches at its free end havingan angularly bent plug for engagement with an opening in the free end ofthe other branch. The branch provided with the opening is angularlyshaped so that the plane of the opening forms an angle with the plane ofthe branch. The branch having the opening has a depression for housingthe angularly bent plug when the suspender is in locked position. Suchbranch being provided with edge bulges extending around the bottom andsides of the opening and tapering in thickness above the top of theopening for reinforcing the branch end and for guiding the angularlybent plug when brought into locking position.

, The present invention has reference to a suspender for clothing, inparticular for stockings. In such suspenders it is desirable that thesuspender is thin and does not present any protruding parts of such akind that they can be visible through a dress or a skirt for the reasonthat such protruding portions have a detrimental influence on the goodlooking of the clothing. Further, such protruding parts may irritate thewearer.

For this reason one has in recent times produced such a suspender forclothing of the kind referred to comprising two branches pivotallyattached to each other at one of their ends, one of said branches at itsfree end having a locking means in the shape of an angular plug to beintroduced in an opening at the free end of the other branch. However,also such a suspender is too thick and presents portions protrudingoutside its profile. For this reason this suspender cannot be consideredas a satisfactory solution of the problem.

The present invention has reference to a suspender of the kind referredto at which the problem has been solved thereby that the branch endprovided with said opening is angularly bent in such a way that theplane of the opening forms an angle with the plane through its branchand thereby that this branch outside the opening on one side has adepression for housingat least partly-the angular plug in the lockedposition of the suspender and on the opposite side it is provided withborder bulges serving on one hand as a reinforcement for the branch endprovided with the opening and on the other hand for guiding the angularplug in its displacement to the locking position. Such a suspender iscompletely smooth when in locked position and is very easy andcomfortable to manipulate for being locked as well as for beingunlocked.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows the suspender in fiat unfolded position,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the suspender,

FIG. 3 shows a section on the line IIIIII in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows the suspender in a front view in locked position.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section through the suspender in locked position,and

3,362,051 Patented Jan. 9, 1968 FIG. 6 shows on an enlarged scale thesame cross section as FIG. 5 but with the suspender holding a stocking.

The suspender according to the invention comprises two branches 1 and 2which are pivotally interconnected at one of their ends through a thinportion 3. The branch 2 is at its free end provided with an angularlybent plug 4 and the branch 1 is at its free end provided with an opening5. In operative position the suspender is folded in the pivot 3 whereasthe openings 6 and 7 situated adjacent this pivot will register witheachother such that a garter 8 from a clothing (not shown) can be putthrough these openings 6 and 7, see FIGS. 4 and 5. The end provided withthe opening 5 forms an angle in such away that the plane of the opening5 forms an angle with the plane through the branch 2 and further, thisend is provided with a depression 10 in one side outside the opening 5and on the opposite side inside the opening 5 with a bulge 11 at eachside border.

At the locking of the suspender according to the present invention oneproceeds in the following way and then the suspender is supposed to beattached to a clothing by means of a garter 8. The border of thestocking is brought up between the branches 1 and 2 and the branch 1 isbent in such a way that the plug 4 will be situated on a higher levelthan the opening 5. So as to facilitate this bending, the branch 2 maybe provided with a thinner portion. When the plug 4 then is released andthe branches 1 and 2 are pressed against each other, the branch 2springs to straight position and the plug 4, guided by the bulges 11, isbrought into the opening 5 which due to its inclining position catchesthe end of the plug 4 such that this plug 4 is brought through theopening 5. In looking position the portion of the plug 4 brought throughthe opening 5 will be situated in the depression 10 in such a way thatits surface is turned to the right according to FIG. 5, i.e., thesurface turned in outward direction when the suspender is in use, willbe situated essentially in level with the surface of the branch 2 turnedin the same direction. In a corresponding way the end 9 of the branch 2with its surface turned to the left according to FIG. 5, i.e., thesurface turned towards the wearer, will be situated essentially in thesame plane as the surface of the branch 1 turned in the same directionand, thus, there will be no protruding portions in any direction whichcould be visible through the clothings of the wearer. Such protrudingportions would Wear the clothes and irritate the wearer.

At the unlocking, one proceeds in such a way that the branch 1 which inuse position is situated outwards and which so as to facilitate itsgripping with the hand is somewhat wider than the branch 2 andpreferably provided with grip portions 12, is gripped between the thumband the index and is pushed outwardly whereas the branch 2 is retainedby the stocking, and the plug 4 will slide against the bottom in thedepression 10, out of the opening 5 and then release the stocking 13from the locking position shown in FIG. 6.

The suspender according to the invention is manufactured preferably bymeans of extrusion of a synthetic resin and then one preferably choosespolypropylene for the reason that this resin does not irritate the skin,it is flexible and strong such that it does not hurt a sensible skin andit is resistant to be bent. Further it is soft so that the suspenderwill be free of sharp and hard edges and corners which could damage thestocking. It can withstand temperatures up to C. and down to 30 C. sothat the suspender will be resistant when the clothing is washed in hotwater and when the clothing is used in cold weather.

The invention has been described in the aforegoing for purposes ofillustration only and is not intended to be limited by this descriptionor otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a suspender for clothing, in particular stockings and the like,comprising two branches connected to each other at one of their ends,one of said branches at its free end having an angularly bent plug forengagement with an opening in the free end of the other branch, thebranch provided with the opening being angularly shaped in such a waythat the plane of the opening forms an angle with the plane of itsbranch, said branch provided with the opening, being outside thisopening provided with a depression for housing, at least partly, theangularly bent plug when the suspender is in locked position, saidbranch provided with the opening at the opposite side provided with edgebulges extending around the bottom and sides of the opening and taperingin thickness above the top of the opening for serving on one hand forreinforcing the branch end provided with the opening and on the otherhand for guiding the angularly bent plug, when the latter is brought tolocking position.

2. A suspender for clothing as claimed in claim 1,

in which the branch provided with the opening is intended to bepositioned externally in use and is shaped wider than the other branch.

3. A suspender for clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the branchprovided with the opening is intended to be positioned externally in useand is shaped wider than the other branch and provided with gripportions so as to facilitate the unlocking of the suspender.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,615 12/1884 Frost 24-248518,964 5/1894 Parker 24-245 824,332 6/1906 Barnum 24-246 15 2,055,1169/1936 Bissell 2444s 2,281,342 4/1942 Visconti et al. 24245 FOREIGNPATENTS 657,928 2/ 1963 Canada. 1,062,191 7/1959 Germany.

735,046 8/1955 Great Britain.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner.

